03/10/2010

My eldest niece Connie was five last week so what better than to make her a cushion like her sister Ellie, This time i was well aware of my ironing mishap of Ellies cushion so made sure all ironing was done on a cool setting and with a tea towel covering all the trims - just to be extra careful!!.

My sis had asked if i could make a cushion with some purple fabric (to match the bedroom)and after searching through my stash i realized i didn't have the right colour so would have to hunt some down. Luckily for me a new fabric shop has opened near by where i bought the perfect Robert kaufman fabric and where i feel my purse may be taking lots of little trips. What's also great is that although its a little shop they have a great little website in which i can order the fabric and pick it up from the shop - no p&p - hoorah - more money to spend on fabric - double hoorah!

Luckily the cushion was a success with Connie (and her mum) so i feel cushions as birthday presents may continue throughout family and friends.

Hoping your all enjoying the change in seasons - spring is definitely on its way x

01/25/2010

My little niece Ellie turned 2 last week (where did that go!!) so i thought i'd make her a little cushion as she will soon be going into her own big bed. I did some simple hand embroidery and then thought i'd try a bit of freehand machine embroidery which i'd never really tried before - simple but really quick and effective.

All was finished and going well when i decided to press the cushion - and then i did something really really stupid - i put the hot iron straight on top of the ric rac and nylon ribbon !!!!!!!!! Yes i know what you're thinking - they'll melt - and yes they did. What on earth possessed me to put the iron straight on top i'll never know (could blame it on the pregnancy hormones i suppose!!) however luckily the said melted pieces were at the side of the cushion so i added some extra buttons to cover up my silly silly mistake (yet another minor disaster covered up with buttons). Hoping you never encounter this little crafting moment of panic - happy sewing x

01/20/2010

It seems a little trivial to be writing this considering my last post however i'm sure we're all doing our own bit to help the poor people of Haiti -- so here goes.

Earlier this week when i spotted this little lovely vintage sewing box (complete with loads of embroidery threads and 3 wooden embroidery hoops) in a local charity shop for just £15!. I saw it, cooed over it, said to little Ava how lovely it was (despite her confused expression) and then put on my sensible head and walked out of the shop without buying it saying to myself "no i don't need it - i'm meant to be having a big spring clean". Then we went home had lunch and all the while this little voice kept saying "buy me, buy me or you'll regret it FOREVER!! And so like a possessed woman i grabbed the phone and called the shop hoping no one else had spotted this little beauty as i new if it had gone i would definitely have been kicking myself for a long long time.

Thankfully it was still there and in the blink of an eye i was back in the shop feeling pretty chuffed with myself as i handed over my cash. I managed to placate the other half (who really doesn't understand the thrill of finding such things) by saying that i really needed it for organizing my stuff and that i'll eventually sell it on (ahem little white lies never hurt!) which seemed to do the trick!

Some of my friends have found some wonderful vintage pieces at charity shops over the years and yet they seem to escape me - untill now - mind you i did find this great little table cloth before Christmas which gave my sister table cloth envy.

01/16/2010

With our attentions focussed at the desperate plight in Haiti i'm sure we're all feeling we must try to do something to help no matter how small we feel our help can be. There are so many ways to donate money to help with Aid but one way which i would like to share with you if you have not yet seen is the by the wonderful Craft Hope who have carried out many projects to help make a difference in the world. They have opened an Etsy shop where you can donate or buy handmade items with all proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders, so head over to Craft Hope to see how you can help x

01/11/2010

Now we all know how bad we are in the Uk dealing with the white stuff - we all seem to come to a stand still not exactly knowing what we should do - do we get out and grin and bear it or stay safe and warm inside like we're so often told to do!. Luckily the wonderful show has been around for a while now and has made us Brits - well -just get on with it ( as is how it should be and is how it is for so many people all over the world).

This weekend saw us thoroughly enjoying the snow with friends as we dusted off our sledges ( when was the last time they had a good airing!??) and headed for some hills. Luckily being skiers we all had the appropriate gear to keep toasty but i did have a little laugh to myself at those who were slipping and sliding in stilettos's (yes really), high heeled boots and little pumps with paper thin soles over the last few days - i'm well past that age of fashion before practicality (although i'm sure i've been that daft in the past).

Luckily we had a lovely old wooden sledge of my dads however with sledges not being readily available in the UK any more in winter due to years of 'no snow' it was lovely to see so many wonderful, creative, wacky and crazy things people were using as make do sledges - house sale signs, metal boiler panels, blow up mattresses, chair seats, builders bags, kayaks, rugby scrum cushions, tea trays and rubber tyres, but the winner this weekend must go to a guy with a toilet seat - and boy did he go fast!. It was wonderful to see everyone young and old getting together and having so much fun enjoying a simple rare treat in this country and getting past the doom and gloom of the recent media coverage.

We had been told that the show would be here for another week with a fresh fall today however the temperature seems to have risen and the 'big freeze' looks like its turning into the 'big thaw'. And so if we are coming towards the end of our wonderful and beautifully rare winter wonderland - well its been a blast and if you're reading this from your own snowy corner of the world - lucky you - i'm sure it has its downs but it sure has lots of wonderful ups. x

12/31/2009

Wishing you all a Happy 2010 and i hope that 2009 was a memorable year for you all. For me 2009 made me start my blog ( a new years resolution i finally achieved!!),bought me lots of happy times with my family and also made me unemployed which in turn has made me into a full time mum spending lots of time with my lovely growing Ava (strange at first but more rewarding than anything else i've ever done).

2010 for our house is going to be a year when 3 will become 4 with a new little addition arriving sometime at the end of May and so a huge post Christmas /Spring clean is definitely in order as we make way for all that comes along with a new baby. But for now we are going to enjoy being 3 and I for one am determined to enjoy this blog again (now that my pregnancy sickness and tiredness has elapsed) and get that trusty sewing machine out again - after all there's a little tiny toed bundle who will surely need some new shoes.

12/11/2009

Awaiting in the fireplace tonight is a letter from a little 2 year old (who is just grasping the idea of Santa and Christmas) to a very special person. I hope it is taken overnight as someone will be checking first thing in the morning - oh happy happy times x

12/10/2009

We've just returned from a lovely week visiting relatives in Hamburg which was a lovely way to start this festive month. We have been to Germany several times at this time of year and it is so lovely to be able to experience 'authentic' German Christmas markets - so much lovely Gluhwein, Stollen, sausage (i have definitely started piling on those winter pounds!!) and beautiful wooden Christmas decorations - not an inflatable nylon santa or flashing house in sight. So now my tree is finally up - the cinnamon spice candles are burning and i'm feeling nicely festive - i hope you are too x

11/10/2009

Sorry if i've been quite for a while - we all seem to have had one of the many winter bugs going around which have wiped us off our feet meaning that as soon as little Ava is tucked up in bed Mommy and Daddy are soon to follow (so unlike us usual late nighters!) So precious crafting time has usually been spent tucked under a duvet instead of in front of a sewing machine. However energy levels for me at least seems to be coming back so i'll hopefully be able to catch up with some long overdue Christmas present making - how many days are there left now!!!!!!!!????????

Anyway i thought id share with you a lovely surprise at the supermarket today which many of you may have seen already this year or last year (but which is totally new to me and so made me smile). Smoothies with woolly hats - a collaboration of Innocent, Age Concern and Sainsbury's. Apparently the scheme ran last year and already this year over 513, 000 little hats have been knitted in a bid to raise over £250,000. So if you fancy doing some extra knitting then head over to their website or if you're not a knitter then show your support and choose your little woolly drink or veg pot x

10/18/2009

A few weeks ago after posting a photo of Avas room on flickr I was contacted by Ohdeedoh.com to ask if i they could do a little feature of Avas room on their website's room tours - how on earth could i say no!! I was over the moon and so so flattered. I sent over lots (and lots) of photos of Avas room (after a thorough tidy!!) and answered some questions and then hey presto it was up and live last week. If you've headed over to my blog from Ohdeedoh then thanks for taking a peek - if you haven't then have a look - they've got a great website with some great stuff x